Photo of suspect released

Fredericton police are asking for the public's help in identifying a suspect in the theft of two Elections New Brunswick laptops. (Fredericton Police)

The Fredericton Police Force is asking for the public's help in identifying a suspect in the theft of two Elections New Brunswick laptops.

Two photos of the male suspect, taken from video surveillance, have been released.

One of the laptops contained "sensitive" personal information about every eligible voter in the province, including phone numbers, dates of birth and driver's licence numbers, which can be used for identity theft, officials have said.

The photos of the male suspect were taken from video surveillance of the Elections New Brunswick office. (Fredericton Police)

Police believe the computers were stolen during a break in at the Elections New Brunswick office building at 551 King St., during the evening of June 1.

Police were called about the theft on June 4.

The province's chief electoral officer has said he doesn't think the thief targeted the voter data because the computers were actually stolen from an office down the hall that was not identified as Elections New Brunswick.

Bell Canada employees were using the laptops to create a new software application for the agency, chief electoral officer Michael Quinn has said.

Quinn believes the personal voter information is secure because the laptop was password protected and the data was encoded.

Still, New Brunswick's privacy commissioner has urged voters to keep a close eye on their bank and credit card statements.

Anne Bertrand said it's important for people to be vigilant.

There are 553,000 people on the voters list.

Anyone with information about the identity of the suspect is asked to contact Det. Phil Huckins at 460-2300, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).